In a world... where everybody has a twin, and virtues and vices are split unevenly between pairs, siblings Auben and Kasim Mtuze's symbiotic bond is strained to the breaking point by Kasim's higher social status and Auben's sudden possession by demons.

Read it for: detailed world-building that encompasses a South African setting in which European colonization never occurred, and a society underpinned by a non-binary conception of gender.

You might also like: Laura Lam's False Hearts, another genre-blending speculative tale about twins with a complex and unusual bond.

Starring: Ruslan, the last surviving human after a bioweapon wipes out his entire civilization.

The situation: The alien Myssari want to clone Ruslan and revive the human species. In exchange for his cooperation, they promise to help him locate his ancestral planet: Earth.

Reviewers say: “The stunning plot of Foster’s stand-alone novel will intrigue readers for not only the ‘last man in the universe’ trope but also the well-developed alien species. A true first contact novel on many different levels.” (Library Journal)

What it is: an unusual take on an Agatha Christie-style country house mystery, in which an unnamed narrator must solve a murder while imprisoned in a time loop. As if that's not difficult enough, each day the protagonist wakes up in the body of a different guest.

What's at stake: Failure to identify the killer will reset the entire scenario.

Further reading: For another mystery involving time loops, check out Sean Ferrell's Man in the Empty Suit.

What it is: a diverse selection of Science Fiction and Fantasy stories chosen by series editor John Joseph Adams and guest editor N. K. Jemisin.

Featuring: a wide range of styles and perspectives, the stories in this anthology swing gracefully from thoughtful superhero SF, to nuanced horror based on Congolese mythology, to musings on the multiverse, as well as a heartfelt piece about a sentient spacecraft and a found family.

Read it to: explore the ever-expanding and changing world of SFF today, with Jemisin bringing her lyrical, endlessly curious point of view to the series' latest edition.

What it's about: This tale, inspired by Jewish mythology, is set in a woodland village on the border of Moldova and Ukraine and follows the experiences of two sheltered sisters who uncover a secret magical heritage.

About the author: Rossner's story is inspired by her own family's history; each of her great-grandparents fled anti-Semitic violence in Europe, and her story is emotionally charged, full of sharp historical detail and well-deployed Yiddish phrases.

Further reading: For another fantasy combining historical events, religious strife, and Russian folklore, look for The Bear and the Nightingale, by Katherine Arden.

What it's about: In late 1997, a runaway teenager and her small yellow toy robot travel west through a strange American landscape where the ruins of gigantic battle drones litter the countryside, along with the discarded trash of a high-tech consumerist society addicted to a virtual-reality system.

Why you might like it: This oversize volume contains illustrations on every page that slowly reveal the details of a retro-futuristic and dying society, enhancing the author's text.

Reviewers say:"The Electric State is a striking and strangely compelling work of science fiction gothic. Providing a series of snapshots of an alternate Earth of yesteryear, it tells the story of how that world ended.” (New York Journal of Books)

What if... women were in charge? Would they create a more just society...or would they electrocute men with their bare hands and establish a matriarchy?

What it is: Framed as historical fiction penned millennia after the balance of power shifts, this thought-provoking novel follows a diverse cast whose abilities transform them from victims to oppressors.

What it's about: Lady Elanna Valtai grew up as a hostage in the court of a king who took her to ensure her rebellious father's compliance. Now the prime suspect in the king's murder, Elanna has nowhere to go to but the homeland she's spent her life trying to forget and no one to turn to except the family she's been raised to hate.

Why you might like it: Elanna's transformation from sheltered girl to courageous leader may appeal to fans of Erika Johansen's The Queen of the Tearling.

Series alert: The Waking Land series continues with The Memory of Fire.

What happens: After university dropout Meena survives an assassination attempt in future Mumbai, she heads for her native Addis Ababa by way of the Trail, or Trans-Arabian Linear Generator, a high-tech bridge spanning the Arabian Sea. Ethiopia is also the destination of 10-year-old Mariama, an enslaved child in present-day Mauritania who sneaks aboard an oil truck crossing the Sahara.

Why you might like it: Despite differences in time and circumstance, the women's paths are destined to cross in ways neither one could predict.

What it's about: Philip Coramina is dying. His final wish? To see his daughters one last time. Loyal Esme already serves as his second-in-command, but her three estranged half-sisters want nothing to do with the family's corporate empire.

Why you might like it: Although family drama is the beating heart of this character-driven novel, there's plenty of intrigue surrounding the Coramina Group and its various enterprises.

Backstory: Once every ten years, a powerful wizard known as the Dragon chooses one young woman from Agnieszka's valley and spirits her away to his enchanted tower. Why? Nobody knows.

What happens: Unexpectedly chosen over more likely candidates, Agnieszka discovers untapped talents, challenges the Dragon's rules (and patience), and battles the malevolent influence of the nearby enchanted Wood in order to save her village.

Why you might like it: Based on Polish folklore, this stand-alone novel by Temeraire series author Naomi Novik is a fantastical coming-of-age tale combining magic, warfare, politics, and romance.

Introducing: Binti of the Himba people, who rarely travel beyond their ancestral lands.

What happens: Admitted to the prestigious Oomza University, Binti must leave her family and traditional way of life behind. But her struggle to adjust to her new situation is nothing compared to the trouble caused by the alien Meduse.

Series alert: The Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Binti kicks off a trilogy that continues with Binti: Home and Binti: The Night Masquerade.